2/27/14 -
- Bought 3x 12 slot peat pods mini-greenhouses from Lowes.
- Planted 12 Brandywine tomato plants.
Brandywine (tomato)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Brandywine tomato)
For Brandywine (creek), see Brandywine_Creek_(Christina_River).
| Brandywine | |
|---|---|
 Brandywine fruit | |
| Stats | |
| Maturity | 90 days |
| Type | Heirloom |
| Vine | Indeterminate |
| Plant height | 9 feet |
| Fruit Weight | 24 oz |
| Leaf | potato leaf |
| Color | Red (pink) |
| Shape | Beefsteak |
TheBrandywine tomato plant is an heirloom cultivar of the species, with large potato-leaved foliage and which bears large pink beefsteak-shaped fruit, popularly considered among the best tasting available.
Description[edit]
Brandywine tomatoes can bear fruit up to 1.5 lbs (0.7 kg), requiring 80 to 100 days to reach maturity, making it among the slowest maturing varieties of common tomato cultivars. Brandywine has been described as having a "great tomatoey flavor",[1] (others have called it a beautifully sweet tomato that is offset by a wonderful acidity), leading to heavy usage despite the original cultivar's relatively low yield per plant. Its fruit has the beefsteak shape and pinkish flesh, as opposed to the deep red of more common store bought varieties. Even when fully ripe, the tomato can have green shoulders near the stem.
The Brandywine tomato plant also has potato leaves, an unusual variation on the tomato plant whose leaves are smooth and oval with a pointy tip, instead of jagged and fjord-like the way "normal" tomato plant leaves are.
History[edit]
As noted by Craig LeHoullier, the origins of the Brandywine cultivar remain unclear. [2] Burpee reports carrying it in their catalogue as early as 1886, and there are references to it older than that.[1]Though it is often said to be of Amish origins, there is no evidence of this.[citation needed]
LeHoullier also notes, it had been included in the Seed Savers Exchange in 1982 by an elderly Ohio gardener named Ben Quisenberry. He received the variety from a woman named Dorris Sudduth Hill who could trace Brandywine in her family for over 80 years. Brandywine has become one of the most popular home garden cultivars in the United States. Due to the proliferation of many misidentified varieties, the pink-fruited, potato-leaved Brandywine is sometimes labeledBrandywine (Sudduth's).[2]
- Planted 12 Super Sioux Tomato Plants
Super Sioux Tomato Seed (70 days) Sustainable Seed Company
Semi-determinate vines with regular leaves.
The heirloom tomato Sioux was released in 1944 by the University of Nebraska. Super Sioux is a later selection for larger size, taste and disease resistance.
Super Sioux produces round red fruit that are 4-6 onces. Excellent balance of sweet and acid. Notable for its ability to thrive in hot and dry conditions. Dependably sets fruit even in high heat and produces until frost. Good choice for slicing or canning because of the acid content.- Planted 12 Catnip plants Catnip Wikipedia - Catnip
Nepeta cataria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Catnip" redirects here. For other uses, see Catnip (disambiguation).
| Nepeta cataria Catnip | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Flowers of the plant | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Nepeta |
| Species: | N. cataria |
| Binomial name | |
| Nepeta cataria L.[1] | |
Nepeta cataria, commonly known as catnip, catswort, or catmint, is aspecies of the genus Nepeta in the Lamiaceae family, native to Europeand southwestern to central Asia, and is widely naturalized elsewhere.[1]The common name catmint can also refer to the genus as a whole.
Contents
[hide]Description[edit]
Nepeta cataria is a short lived herbaceous perennial, growing 50–100 centimetres (20–39 in) tall and wide. It resembles a typical mint family member in appearance by having the characteristic square[2] stem that members of the Lamiaceae plant family have, but with brown-green foliage. The coarse-toothed leaves are triangular to ovate.[3]
The small bilabiate flowers can be white and finely spotted with pale purple or pink. They are showy and fragrant. The plant blooms from late spring through autumn.[3]
Uses[edit]
The plant terpenoid nepetalactone is the main chemical constituent of the essential oil of Nepeta cataria. Nepetalactone can be extracted from catnip by steam distillation.[4]
Cultivation[edit]
Nepeta cataria is cultivated as an ornamental plant for use in gardens. It is also grown for its attractant qualities tohouse cats and butterflies.[3]
The plant is drought tolerant and deer resistant. It can be a repellant for certain insects, including aphids and squash bugs.[3]
- Varieties
- Nepeta cataria var. citriodora (or N. cataria subsp. citriodora), Lemon catnip.
Attractant[edit]
The compound "iridodial" as extracted from catnip oil has been found to attract the beneficial insect known as lacewings which eat aphids and mites.[5]
Repellent[edit]
Nepetalactone is a mosquito and fly repellent.[6][7] Oil isolated from catnip by steam distillation is a repellent against insects, in particular mosquitoes, cockroaches and termites.[8][9] Research suggests that, in vitro, distilled nepetalactone repels mosquitoes ten times more effectively than DEET, the active ingredient in most insect repellents,[6][10] but that it is not as effective a repellent when used on the skin.[11]
Humans[edit]
Nepeta cataria is commonly used in herbal tea blends related to sleep, stress reduction, and relaxation.[12] Also used as a culinary herb for many dishes.
Medicinal[edit]
Catnip has a history of medicinal use for a variety of ailments.[13] The plant has been consumed as a tea, juice,tincture, infusion or poultice, and has also been smoked.[13] However, its medicinal use has fallen out of favor with the development of more commonplace pharmaceutical drugs.[13]
Cats[edit]
Catnip contains the feline attractantnepetalactone. Nepeta cataria (and some other species within the genus Nepeta) are known for their behavioral effects on the catfamily, not only on domestic cats but also other species of cats.[13] One test showed that tigers, leopards, and lynxes all reacted strongly to catnip in a manner similar to domestic cats, while lions did not react at all.[14][15]
With domestic cats, N. cataria is used as a recreational substance for pet cats' enjoyment, and catnip and catnip-laced products designed for use with domesticated cats are available to consumers. The common behaviors when cats sense the bruised leaves or stems of catnip are rubbing on the plant, rolling on the ground, pawing at it, licking it, and chewing it. Consuming much of the plant is followed by drooling, sleepiness, anxiety, leaping about and purring. Some growl, meow, scratch, or bite the hand holding it. The main response period after exposure is generally between five and fifteen minutes,[16]:p.107 after which olfactory fatigue usually sets in.
The nepetalactone in catnip acts as a feline attractant after it enters the feline's nose.[17] Cats detect it through theirolfactory epithelium, not through their vomeronasal organ.[18] At the olfactory epithelium, the nepetalactone binds to one or more olfactory receptors.
Not all cats are affected by catnip.[13] Roughly half to two thirds of cats are affected by the plant.[19][20] The phenomenon is hereditary.[13]
Other plants that also have this effect on cats include valerian (Valeriana officinalis), Acalypha indica (root) and plants that contain actinidine.[21] Approximately 30% of domestic house cats who do not react to catnip will react in a similar way to Tatarian honeysuckle sawdust.[16]:p.108
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